The first ever ̨��swag Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) Southern Region table tennis competition recently took place and involved seven of the Trust’s secondary academies.

In addition to the fun and competitive environment the tournament would inevitably produce, the purpose of the OGAT Southern Region table tennis competition was to bring both staff and students from different academies together and reward students for their hard work and effort in their PE lessons.

The tournament was hosted by ̨��swag Academy Valley, and was attended by ̨��swag Academy Portland, ̨��swag Academy City, ̨��swag Academy Danum, ̨��swag Academy Newbold, ̨��swag Academy Brumby, and ̨��swag Academy Foxhills. 

Each of the seven academies entered both one KS3 and one KS4 boys team and one KS3 and one KS4 girls team. Each team was made up of four players.

After some incredible skill and intense matches, the four finals were set with the format of eight games per match to be played, and each game up to seven points:

KS3 Boys: ̨��swag Academy Valley 8 v 0 ̨��swag Academy Portland

The boys from ̨��swag Academy Valley were too strong for their opponents in this local derby and comfortably won.

KS4 Boys: ̨��swag Academy Valley 5 v 3 ̨��swag Academy City

The KS4 boys team for the host academy just edged out their opponents from the Steel City after the match had been tied at 2-2 after four games.

KS3 Girls: ̨��swag Academy Valley 7 - 1 ̨��swag Academy Danum

The host team managed to overcome their opponents in a tighter game than the score would suggest with many games being won by just two points.

KS4 Girls: ̨��swag Academy Valley 4 v 4 (W) ̨��swag Academy Danum

A repeat of the KS3 girls final, and the most competitive and nail-biting end to a match since the 1999 Champions League Football Final. 

The winner was eventually decided on countback of points after some enthralling table tennis action. Both teams had won the exact same number of games, but ̨��swag Academy Danum had amassed 105 individual points, to ̨��swag Academy Valley’s 80 points.

Murray Campbell, Organiser of the event and Head of PE at ̨��swag Academy Valley, said: “I am absolutely delighted with the success of the first ever OGAT Southern Region Table Tennis competition. It was a fantastic day.

“The standard of table tennis was very high, and it was great that even in a competitive environment the standard of sportsmanship and general behaviour from the students was exceptional. They were all a credit to their academies.

“At ̨��swag we believe in putting students first, and doing all we can to support them to reach their full potential both in and outside the classroom. Events like this are an example of how we try and achieve this.”